Kellan's Dragons

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Kellan's Dragons

Book One in the Dragon Wars series

Author: Antonia Tiranth

Editor: Penny Ehrenkranz

Line Editor: Lea Schizas

Cover Artist: Delilah K. Stephans

ISBN: 978-0-9865875-3-5

Price: $3.50

Word count: 24,793

Pages: 77

AVAILABLE IN PRINT

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Warning: Limited violence, sexual content, or language

Blurb:

Kellan Teague, an orphan, is whisked away from the boarding school for psions by Dr. Olivia Hutchins to take part in a military organization called The Program. She awakes to find that she has been Linked, psychically bonded to a dragon named Jericho. Jericho doesn't seem very happy to be Linked and does everything he can to push Kellan away. One of the few people to show her kindness is a guard known to her only as Drake. Kellan soon finds out that both Jericho and Drake have secrets, secrets that hold the key to her past.

Excerpt:

A tremendous roar shook the ground, and something red streaked by from below. The wind of his passing knocked me to the ground, my elbow struck the hard rock painfully. I heard Enoch bellow behind me in surprise. A dark shadow blotted out the sun, and Miri pulled me back just before the dragon could land on me. The sound of his talons scrapping on stone set my teeth on edge. I stared at those sharp talons, and then looked up to see the rest of him. He was huge. Bigger than a house. He barely fit on the platform as he stood on his hind legs, his wings spread, fore limbs poised to strike. The scales on his back shone blood red, but the sun glinted off the gold on his underside. Two vicious ram-like horns curved from above his eyes to point forward. He roared again, revealing his rows of sharp, jagged teeth.

“Oh, good gods.  They gave you Jericho.” I heard Miri breathe in my ear, her arms tightening around me.

My head started to ache again from Jericho’s roars and his anger that burned across our Link. I covered my ears with my hands, trying to shut out the sound, but his voice was still in my mind. “Run away,” he repeated.

Enoch curled around me and Miri hissed, but I could see the smaller dragon trembling with fear. Was Jericho nothing more than a huge bully? “Would you stop it! It’s not my fault they stuck me with you.”

Jericho growled, his tail lashing wildly. One swipe of that bladed tail and I was as good as dead. “Is this...normal?” I asked Miri.

The woman looked as white as a sheet and with pursed lips, just shook her head. I scrambled to my feet, taking a cautious step forward. “You’re not going to hurt me.” Of course, I wasn’t really confident in that statement, but if he wanted to kill me, I would be dead.  He could have knocked me from the cliff when he flew up.

“What makes you so certain, little girl?” Jericho lifted his head, arching it back and forth as he spewed yellow flame. My breath caught in my throat. He could roast me alive.

“If you wanted to kill me you would have done it already,” I told him as he looked at me again.

“You stupid girl—” His words ceased as another bellow echoed off the stone. A blue and silver dragon streaked from above, hitting Jericho and knocking him from the cliff. A surprised cry ripped from my throat as I felt his pain. I dropped to my knees again, crawling toward the edge, fear clutching my heart. Jericho stretched out his mighty wings, pumping them to gain altitude. The blue dragon kept hot on his heels, his cries a clear challenge. I saw movement beside me and looked at Miri. “What is going on?”

“That’s Bashemath. Enoch says that he should have been your Link, and he’s challenging Jericho. It’s suicide...”

Why was everyone so afraid of Jericho? I supposed I would find out, eventually. My attention was drawn back to the two dragons flying above us, and the world went white for a minute. All I could see were clouds streaking by and bright blue sky.

* * * *

The hatchling would pay for his audacity. He’d gotten in a lucky shot but unfortunately for him, his talons weren’t yet sharp enough to pierce my hide. It would be the last mistake he made. I twisted my head, searching for the hatchling. I saw Bashemath behind me, slowly gaining as I flew at a leisurely pace. He wanted to challenge me for the girl? Well, he would soon find that I didn’t lose a challenge. A quick twist and I was plummeting toward the other dragon. I would ride him to the ground and watch his body break against the stone.

“No! Don't kill him.”

Damn it! I’d forgotten about the girl. I pulled up, slashing Bashemath’s face with my tail, relishing his scream. “Stay out of this, girl.”

* * * *

I blinked, and I once again stared into Miri’s face, gasping for breath. Miri was patting my cheeks. “Damn, honey. Not one practice session and already you’re that deep in a Link? Not smart.”

“What?” I waved my hand; whatever she was saying wasn’t important. The fact that two dragons were getting ready to kill each other was more important. “Someone needs to stop them.” I looked up, watching Jericho as he soared across the sky. The other dragon struggled in his pursuit. I tried again to reach Jericho, but he was deliberately keeping me out now.

“Kellan, honey, there’s nothing you can do to stop this,” Miri said, her hand on my shoulder. “There isn’t anything anyone can do.”

I shook my head. There had to be something. I couldn’t let Jericho kill the other dragon. Not because of me. A shriek of pain turned my attention skyward again. Jericho had the blue dragon in his talons. They were falling at a frightening speed. I thought briefly about trying to create a shield to slow their fall, but hitting the shield would hurt as much as the ground. I was helpless. Bashemath attempted to retaliate, snapping at the golden scales under Jericho’s neck. I couldn’t stop the cry that came from my mouth as I put a hand to my throat. I felt every bite. It shocked more than hurt, but then Bashemath’s tail ripped through the webbing of one of Jericho’s wings. My arm felt on fire, and the pain drove me to my knees with a scream. I vaguely registered Miri’s arm around my shoulders as I attempted to reach Jericho again.

“Please don’t. Stop, please.”

Reviews:

GhostWriter Literary Reviews - 5 Stars

Fallen Angel Reviewer Teresa - 4 angel rating

One Hundred Romances Project - 4 star review

MEET THE AUTHOR

Also by Antonia Tiranth:

Customer Reviews:

I just loved the voice of this one!

Absolutely great addition to dragon lore. I believe Antonia has a winner series here. The plot twists were both surprising and believable. It takes a great imagination to pull that off.rnrnThe first person tone of Kellan is spot-on for her situation. Who wouldn't be cranky to wake up with a splitting headache and find out you're linked to an even crankier dragon?rnrnGreat fun. I look forward to the sequels.rn

Fifty four pages of really good storytelling proving that psionics and dragons work well together. AND--good news--this is only book I of the Dragon Wars series!rn

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